Saints vs. 49ers: Drew Brees and Company Too Powerful for 49ers to Keep Up

The San Francisco 49ers have arguably the best defense in the NFL this season, but they won't limit the New Orleans Saints offense enough for their own offense to keep up.

There is no doubt in my mind that Drew Brees and Co. will score less against the 49ers than in previous weeks. The 49ers defense is dominant across the board.

But while 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has improved this season, the fact of the matter is the 49ers averaged 10.4 points per game less than the Saints in the regular season, and that difference will be too grand to make up.

Let's be clear: I'm unsure any defense at this point can limit the Saints to under 30 points. Brees has led the Saints to four straight games of 40 points or more and the Saints just blew out the Detroit Lions, 45-28. The Saints actually "only" had 24 points through three quarters in that game, then proceeded to score 21 more in the final frame.

The season Brees is having is historic. He set the NFL record for passing yards in a season and has continued his near-flawless quarterback play into the playoffs. He ended the game against the Lions with 466 yards and three touchdowns.

What has made Brees even more devastating is that the Saints now have a legitimate running attack behind Darren Sproles, who has been one of the best offseason pickups in the league. Defenses now have to worry about the run and the pass, which makes a quarterback like Brees virtually unstoppable.

The 49ers have had a tremendous season under rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh, the hands-down Coach of the Year. But they aren't explosive enough offensively to score 30 points or more against the Saints, which is what I think they will need.

There's only one team who I think can beat the Saints at this point, and that's the defending champion Green Bay Packers.